Alan Murray Of 'The Wall Street Journal' Named Pew Research Center's President

Alan Murray, deputy managing editor and executive editor, online, at The Wall Street Journal, is taking the post of president at the Pew Research Center.

He's succeeding a man who would certainly be familiar to many NPR listeners and to those who like to pore over polls. Andrew Kohut, who has been the center's president since its founding in 2004, will "stay on as founding director and continue to provide counsel on political polling and global attitudes research," the organization announced today.

Murray will step into his new job in January. According to FishbowlNY, he's been with the Journal since 1983. Murray also should be familiar to many NPR and PBS. For much of his career with the Journal, he was among its lead political and economic correspondents.

The center says its aim is to marry "the storytelling skills of journalism with the methodological rigor of social science."